Simon Kardachi and Adam Liston have big plans for Joybird chicken shop

Simon Kardachi and Adam Liston have big plans for their JoyBird charcoal chicken shop in King William St in the city.

Shobosho chef Adam Liston.

Simon Kardachi and Adam Liston have big plans for their JoyBird charcoal chicken shop. While they have just signed the lease for the first outlet, on a corner site in King William Rd, a few doors down from Kardachi’s Nido and Melt, they believe the concept has the potential to open in multiple venues across the country and be exported into Asia.

Adam says the idea for JoyBird has been bubbling away for two years, based on a desire to “cook for the masses rather than something niche”.

“We want to respect what a chicken shop does but do it with a little more class,” he says.

“It’s a go-to thing for my family now, and also when I was growing up, but it’s always been a bit of a ‘dirty’ option. I wanted to give time-poor people a way to have an affordable meal that is cooked well, or the option of taking away chicken and sides.”

So, instead of the supermarket warming oven “with a bag of terrible chicken”, JoyBird will offer chooks that have been split in half and cooked over charcoal on a grill designed by the team who did the fire pits at Shobosho.

They will be offered with a choice of three flavours: a secret eight-spice rub, Balinese curry, and a honey-soy marinade that is a derivative of teriyaki.

Sides, including properly cooked potatoes, roasted veg, salads and sauces, will all be made from scratch. There will also be a version of a chicken yiros “with a little more funk”.

Another Kardachi collaborator, Master barman Ollie Margan (Maybe Mae), is also a partner in the business and will oversee a selection of cocktails, beer and wines that should make summer nights on the upstairs balcony an additional attraction.

JoyBird will open in August